Ocean County Man Charged with Money Laundering and Theft
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Martin D’Amato, 37, of Beachwood
Martin D'Amato, 37, of Beachwood, was charged with theft and money laundering on September 19, 2022, according to an announcement made by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
An automobile dealership in Toms River contacted the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Economic Crime Squad in October 2021 reporting a fraudulent billing scam that was allegedly carried out by Martin D'Amato, a former employee. The business stated that D'Amato was in charge of the dealership's digital advertising and that he had the authority to hire independent advertising and marketing firms to promote the business. The dealership added that an internal examination revealed the firm credit card expenditures had surpassed planned amounts, which is how the false billing scheme came to light.An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crime Squad revealed that D’Amato used his position to misappropriate in excess of 1.3 million dollars from the dealership through an elaborate shell company scheme.
D’Amato created multiple limited liability companies - under his personal control - to create the appearance he was retaining legitimate advertising and marketing services for the dealership. D’Amato used his position and authority to charge the dealership corporate credit card for services never rendered by these fictitious shell companies. The investigation revealed that D’Amato took additional steps to conceal his association with the shell companies by utilizing an online payment processing service to bill the dealership credit card. The online payment processing service subsequently transferred stolen proceeds to accounts controlled by D’Amato to be used for his personal benefit.D'Amato was detained at the Ocean County Jail on September 19, 2022, by detectives from the Economic Crime Squad of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. He is being held there until a detention hearing.
